This is how the world is affected by Microsoft's IT failure
Global problems with Outlook, Teams and Copilot after server update
Quick Look
- A widespread technical error in Microsoft's servers has knocked out services such as Outlook and Teams for millions of users in at least 74 countries.
- The company says an update is behind the problems, not a cyber attack, and is now working to restore operations.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
Microsoft's cloud services suffered a widespread outage late Thursday following a server update. Similar events have previously occurred, for example Crowdstrike's crash in the summer of 2024.
What has happened?
- Late on Thursday evening Swedish time, problems arose with a large number of the servers that run Microsoft's cloud services. Outlook, Teams, Copilot and a number of other tools have since been down or difficult to access. How many of Microsoft's 430 million cloud users were affected cannot be answered, but at most users in at least 74 countries should have been affected. Microsoft has carefully stated that it does not appear to be a cyber attack, instead an update of the company's servers has been raised as a possible explanation.
- On Friday morning, Microsoft stated that it had made progress in solving the problems, and that it is gradually starting to restore affected servers. But so far there is no information about when the problems can be completely remedied.
How big a problem has the breakdown created?
- In Sweden, there are reports that e-mail and other communication solutions are down at a number of municipalities and regions that use Microsoft's solutions. Similar reports are coming from countries around the world, and the UK in particular seems to be hard hit, where healthcare and the police are affected, among other things.
What happens to the emails?
- Microsoft says it has taken measures to ensure that emails sent during the breakdown arrive when the email servers are working properly. Hopefully, no communication will be lost. To DN, the Swedish security expert Marcus Murray says that users should be careful when the services start again because it is common for fraudsters to spread scam emails that look like support emails in connection with this type of IT breakdown.
How rare are breakdowns like this?
- It is not so unusual that even the big tech giants have temporary problems with their services, but an interruption of this magnitude that lasts this long happens very rarely. The most recent example of similar magnitude is the security company Crowdstrike's crash in the summer of 2024, when an update knocked out millions of computers and affected, among other things, air traffic and payment systems.
Open Questions
- When will all services be fully restored?
- How big is the total financial impact?
